Gothic Art Style

In 1150 a completely new style of architecture made its appearance in the monastic church of St. Denis near Paris, which for centuries had been the burial place of the French kings. Abbot Suger wanted to flood his new church with light, which emanated from God. But the round arch used in churches produces great outward pressure that must be absorbed by exceptionally thick walls--twelve feet in some instances. And those walls could not be weakened by having large windows cut through them. Masons had already experimented with pointed arches, with more nearly vertical thrust, which therefore do not require massive walls. Suger's masons based the design on the church at St. Denis entirely on he pointed arch with great windows piercing the walls. The new architecture style was called Gothic.

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